William John Cooper (November 24, 1882 – September 19, 1935) was an American educator who served as US Commissioner of Education from February 1929 to July 1933.
According to the New York Times: "His fundamental theory of education, which he often repeated, was that the ultimate goal of teaching should be, not how to make a living, but how to live. Nevertheless, he believed that the system of education in this country should break away from the older traditions of Europe and seek to express the cultural developments of the New World. In one of his last public addresses Dr. Cooper urged a complete reorganization of the education system in this country to bring the schools into closer harmony with modern conditions.""WILLIAM J. COOPER, EDUCATOR, IS DEAD--Former U.S. Commissioner, 52, Suffered a Stroke on Way to California.--SOUGHT MODERN SCHOOLS--Advocated Break With Methods of Europe So as to Express New World Culture." New York Times, September 20, 1935, p. 21
Background Cooper was the son of William James Cooper, who immigrated to the US from Sydney, Australia, and Belle Stanley (Leary) Cooper. Miss Leary was from San Francisco."William John Cooper." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1944. They were married on February 22, 1882, in Sacramento, California, where William John was born."MARRIED." The Daily Record-Union (Sacramento, CA), February 23, 1882, p. 2. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2011: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1882-02-23/ed-1/seq-2/;words=William+J+Cooper+j"Social and Personal," The Daily Record-Union, February 24, 1882, p. 3. Retrieved Aug. 31, 2011: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014381/1882-02-24/ed-1/seq-3/;words=Cooper William James Cooper was a house painter and moved the family to Cottonwood, California, near Red Bluff where William John was then enrolled in high school. He graduated with honors as a member of the Class of 1902 at Red Bluff High School in Red Bluff, California.Hail to Our Chief. Sierra Educational News. v. 23, 1927, p.164
He obtained his bachelor's (A.B. degree, Y Time 1906, dual major in Latin and history)Google Books and master's (M.A. degree, 1917, double major in education and history) degrees from the University of California, BerkeleyAddicott, Irwin O. 1980. "A History of Fresno Schools," published by the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education, pp. 37-38, retrieved Jan. 14, 2011: http://operationalservices.fresno.k12.ca.us/facilities/history%20files/cooper.html
As a senior at Berkeley, William John Cooper worked as an assistant in the Department of History. He also taught summer session classes at the University of California in 1919, 1920, 1924, 1926, and 1927, and also a summer session class at the University of Oregon in 1923.Marquis, Albert Nelson (ed.) [1930?].Who's Who in America, Vol. 16, 1930-1931. Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company He was a part-time instructor at Johns Hopkins University in the spring of 1932.Marquis, Albert Nelson (ed.) 1932. Who's Who in America, Vol. 17, 1932-1933, Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company
Career He began his career as a high school teacher of Latin and History in Stockton, California, from 1907 to 1910, then"STOCKTON PROFESSOR GOES TO BERKELEY--Cooper of History Department Leaves the Slough City," The San Francisco Call (Tuesday, June 7, 1910), p. 4. Retrieved Jan. 17, 2011: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1910-06-07/ed-1/seq-4/;words=J+Cooper+w+W+j. Excerpt: "Stockton will regret to lose Cooper, as he has been quite active in public affairs and has taken an interest in promotion matters. He was also an advocate of a charter under the commission plan of government, and has had his history classes discuss the subject in all its phases." directed history teaching in Berkeley, California for four junior high schools and one senior high school, as head of the Department of History of Berkeley High School from 1910 to 1915.Kemp. W.W. 1935. Leadership Exemplified. The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Nov., 1935), pp. 74-75"TEACHERS ASK LEGISLATIVE AID--Speakers Urge That Steps Be Taken to Remedy Evils of Present System," the San Francisco Call, November 15, 1910, p. 8. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2011:http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1910-11-15/ed-1/seq-8/;words=William+J+Cooper+Williams+jGoogle Books From 1915 to 1918 he supervised social studies instruction for Oakland public schools.Google Books He worked for the US War Department for eighth months from 1918 to 1919 in education and training. He served as the district superintendent of schools in Piedmont, California from 1918 to 1921, and the city superintendent of schools in Fresno from 1921 to 1926. According to Cooper's 1935 obituary in the Fresno Bee: "[Cooper] put into operation [in Fresno] a system which was considered one of the most efficient in the state. Fresno's public schools today are operating largely on the basis laid down by Cooper during his five-year term as superintendent. He instituted wide reform of the curriculum and directed an $1,800,000 school building program.""W.J. COOPER DIES SUDDENLY ON WAY ACROSS COUNTRY--Hemorrhage Fatal To Former City School Chief in Nebraska," the Fresno Bee, September 19, 1935, p. 1 He also taught as a part-time instructor at Fresno State Teachers College from 1923 to 1926.
He served as superintendent of schools in San Diego in 1926, and was then appointed by Governor Young to be California State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1927. He served in that position until February 1929,Klein, Arthur J. 1930. Education. The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 35, No. 6 (May, 1930), pp. 1063-1071 when US President Calvin Coolidge appointed him to be the Eighth United States Commissioner of Education. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate during the fourth week of January, 1929."The Congress: Senate Week," Time magazine, January 28, 1929 He was re-appointed by President Herbert Hoover and served in the first four months of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, serving in total from February 11, 1929, to July 10, 1933."William John Cooper." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1944. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 15 Jan. 2011. At the time Cooper served, the US Commissioner of Education was not a cabinet-level position. Cooper reported to the United States Secretary of the Interior. Ray Lyman Wilbur was Secretary of the Interior during the Hoover administration. Wilbur served concurrently as President of Stanford University. It was possibly Wilbur who suggested to President-elect Hoover that Cooper be appointed to the Commissioner of Education position. Hoover was a graduate of Stanford University.
According to Cooper's biography listed in the Dictionary of American Biography: "As commissioner Cooper sponsored certain important investigations: a national survey of secondary education, a national survey of the education of teachers, and a national survey of school finance which was cut short by the depression. To the national office, he added the post of assistant commissioner and specialists in comparative education, tests and measurements, radio education, and the education of Negroes and exceptional children. He was the author of Economy in Education (1933) and published many papers in professional journals. During his commissionership, he was in demand as a speaker, delivering 229 written addresses and numerous others extemporaneously.""William John Cooper." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1944.Google BooksGoogle Books
In 1933, Cooper resigned the position of US Commissioner of Education without giving a reasonLykes, Richard Wayne. Higher Education and the United States Office of Education (1867-1953). Washington, DC: Bureau of Postsecondary Education, p. 107. Retrieved: April 2, 2014: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED125458.pdf and became a professor at George Washington University in the District of Columbia. He also taught as a lecturer in education at the University of Michigan in the summer of 1935.
As explained by Frederik Ohles, et al.: "Cooper held that the time had come for education in the United States to end its dependence on European traditions and that it was necessary to create a new manner of education rooted in the culture of the New World. As the nation's commissioner of education, he called for consolidation of rural school districts and for greater guidance of schools by the states. He inaugurated surveys of educational practices in high schools nationwide, of teacher education, and of school finance."Ohles, Frederik; Shirley M. Ohles; and John G. Ramsay. 1997. Biographical dictionary of modern American educators, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Honors Although Cooper did not achieve an earned doctorate,Google Books he received nine honorary degrees during his career, including an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (LL.D.) from Whittier College in 1927,Retrieved Jan. 15, 2011: http://www.whittier.edu/Alumni/NotableAlumni/HonoraryAlumni.aspx an honorary doctorate in education (Ed.D.) from the University of Southern California in 1928,Retrieved Jan. 15, 2011: http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/specialevents/commencement/documents/Listofdegreerecipientsandspeakers.xls and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degrees from Detroit City College in 1929,Retrieved Jan. 15: 2011: http://commencement.wayne.edu/pdf/2009_book_text.pdf Birmingham Southern College in 1930, and Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1931. He received an honorary Doctor of Litt. from Rhode Island State College in 1931, an honorary Doctor of Science in Education by George Washington University in 1931,Retrieved Jan. 15, 2011: http://encyclopedia.gwu.edu/gwencyclopedia/index.php?title=Honorary_Degrees_-_Recipients_of_Honorary_Degrees_At_The_George_Washington_University and an honorary Ph.D. from the New York State Teachers College also in 1931. He also received and honorary LL.D. from Dickinson College in 1932.Retrieved Jan. 15, 2011: http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/h/honorarydegrees/#C As president of the senior class, he was selected to give a student address at the commencement ceremony at the University of California (Berkeley) in 1906.Retrieved Jan. 15. 2011: http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb4v19n9zb;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00300&toc.depth=1&toc.id=div00298&brand=calisphere He served as a Regent of the University of California from 1927 to 1929.Retrieved Jan. 15, 2011: http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb4v19n9zb;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00781&toc.id=div00781&brand=calisphere
In 1922, as Superintendent of Fresno City schools, Cooper worked on a plan to establish "intermediate schools," which would be attended by students of ability canvassed from the existing elementary schools (grades 1 to 6).Schlein, Walter C. 1922. Alumnus Delta (Fresno). The Phi Delta Kappan. Vol. IV, June 1922, pp. 26-27, Google Books Later, in 1959, a junior high school in Fresno, California, was named after him.
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